Forever
by TomBoyBookGirl
Summary: Forever takes place 5 years after Sever. What has happened to Rhine, Gabriel, Cecily, Rowan, Reed and Bowen over the years? And will the dead live on? Can the world rebuild itself? I suck at summaries but give it a try! This is my FIRST Fan Fiction! Rated T because I'm a Teen. Enjoy :) Almost forgot I don't own The Chemical Garden Trilogy (Or Linden)
1. Chapter 1:Suprise, Suprise

**Chapter 1**

I cannot believe that it has been 5 years since the accident happened. I swear I can still hear Cecily cry in her sleep around this time of year. At least she has been able to sleep better most nights because Bowen is finally not afraid of his own room since he's almost 6. Me and Gabriel got married about 3 years ago and Cecily and Rowan got married about 1 year ago. And when I thought things couldn't get any happier, I become pregnant. Cecily told me what it was like but I didn't expect it to be this bad. I am up for almost 8 hours after getting into bed each night. I usually read but now I spend most of the time over at the window and watch the moonlight shimmer off the wet blossoms of the Orange Grove. Most nights I fall asleep sitting up from thinking about Linden and Rose. Are they really there? Are they happy? Does Linden know I feel guilt for what happened? I always think of what happened and how it was my fault for letting linden sit up front instead of me and my thoughts always come back to what the fortune teller said to me. _There's a man who would drown for you. _Linden drowned himself, for me. Now he's dead. The guilt haunts me and looking into the Orange Grove helps because it makes me feel like he's right here with me. I sit and watch as the moon reaches the top of the sky and begins to climb down towards the horizon. The next morning I am woken up by warm hands rubbing my shoulders.

"Morning." he says to me. My eyes slowly flutter open and I smile. He leans forward and kisses me. "Why are you over here again?" he asks sitting beside me on the window seat.

"I couldn't sleep," I reply swinging my feet over the side. "so I came over here to watch the stars."

He puts his hand out to help me up, and in the state i'm in, I need all the help I can get. We meet Rowan, Cecily, Bowen and Reed downstairs.

"Rhine," Reed says turning around with the frying pan in his hand. "How are you this morning?"

Reed has gotten much better since he has more than Pigeon and Deer to feed people. "Good." I say sitting down slowly. "How are you Cecy?" I ask.

I call her Cecy now because thats what Bowen said when he first started to talk. She always smiles when I call her that.

"Good RinRin." she laughs.

Bowen calls me Aunt RinRin so she calls me that whenever I call her Cecy. Bowen always giggles when we call each other those names. For breakfast Reed learned how to make pancakes with blueberries. He has become amazing at cooking. Especially at dinner because the only food I usually crave are his delicious homemade soups. Rowan always teases me and says I'm going to be fat after because I eat so much but Gabriel assures me that I won't because I spend so much time walking in the Orange Grove even though they tell me I should rest.

"Everyone," Rowan says standing up and bringing Cecily with him. "We have an announcement to make."

Cecily leans forward and lands him a kiss on the cheek. She pulls away and hugs him before looking at him for an ok to tell us. He gestures for her to tell us and she does.

"We're pregnant."

I cover my mouth in awe and run over to give them a hug. Everyone claps but Reed.

"Again?!" he says and we all laugh.

"3rd times the charm." she adds and we all laugh again. I sit down in the seat next to Cecily were Reed was going to sit after he finished cleaning up.

"I'm proud of you." I whisper into her ear. "Both of you."

At that moment Bowen gets up and runs over to his mom jumping on her lap.

"Am I getting a little brother or sister?" he asks and we all smile.

Cecily smiled at him too. "Well… what do you want?"

He puts his finger to his chin and puts on his thinking face. He make the funniest faces when stuff like this happens.

"A little sister," he says. "With green eyes just like me!"

Cecily stops smiling and looks at me. I can see pain in her eyes and I can tell she see's it in mine too.

"Excuse me." She says and walks towards the elevator.

I get up to follow her out and I can see Rowan and Gabriel staring down the hall at us as the doors close in front of us.


	2. Chapter 2:How do you not cry?

**Chapter 2**

Cecily has her head on the stump of the orange tree that grew over Lindens grave. I sit beside her trying not to get too upset that I start crying too. She's gotten better than she was when Bowen was 4. When we were painting the house that Linden designed he looked just like him, besides his hair and eyes that he got from Cecily.

"I don't know why I am still crying." she says wiping her eyes with her shirt. "It's been 5 years and every time I get reminded of him I cry."

I put my hand on hers and she grasps it.

"You get like this every year." I tell her. "And I have to try my hardest not to get upset over it too." She lets go of my hand and goes to sit on the bench.

"Well how do you not cry?" she asks as I walk over to her. I sit down and look up at the blossoms.

"Not the way most people would." I say. "I can't sleep most of the time so I go to my window and think about him." She looks at me and I hug her. "It's still really hard," I look at my shoes with tears starting to run down my face. "Because I'm the reason he's dead."

Cecily is hugging me now and whispers to me. "It's not your fault. Linden chose to sit up there with Reed." I sit up and look at her. She can see that there is something I was keeping from her.

"When I was at the scarlet district," I say wiping a tear off my face. "I went to a fortune teller and, she told me," I pause trying to stop my voice from shaking. "_There's a man who would drown for you._"

Cecily puts her hand over her mouth and whispers "Oh, Rhine…" and hugs me.

I fight back the tears well enough for me to talk.

"He drowned in his own blood Cecily." she squeezes me tighter. "He sat up there instead of me. He should be burying me."

She pulls away and holds my shoulders.

"There is nothing either one of us could do about that Rhine." Her when she talks.

"Don't blame yourself for what happened. Linden knows it wasn't your fault."

I hold her tight and then slowly pull away to see that an orange blossom has fallen from the tree and landed in my hand. We look at eachother and she smiles. "See," she says. "I told you he knows."

I look down at the blossom, brush away a tear and smile.

"Are you two okay?" We look up to see Gabriel and Rowan standing just outside the Orange Grove.

"Fine." Cecily says and walks over to Rowan giving him a kiss and they walk back to the mansion.

I try to get up but I lean too far back and as I fall I am caught by Gabriel.

"Careful." he says helping me up. "What was all that about?" he asks me.

I let the blossom float back to the bottom of the tree and put my hands in my pockets.

"Oh nothing. Cecily was upset about Linden again."

He nods and then looks at me.

"Looks like you were upset too." He said. "Do you want to talk?"

I nod and walk up to lean against the tree.

"I felt like what happened was all my fault ." I explain. "He took my spot in the front and he got killed instead."

He walks over and gives me a hug and I squeeze him a tight as I can.

"I should be the one in the ground." He pulls away holding my arms. "We've talked about this." He grabs my hand and wrapped my fingers in his. "Linden does not blame you for this and no one else does."

I laugh a little. "Now you're sounding like Cecily." I add.

He smiles. "Then its true."

He grabs my and and starts walking towards the mansion.

"Reed's waiting inside, he doesn't want his blueberry pancakes to go to waste."


	3. Chapter 3:The Clock Stopped

**A/N: Ok I know it's been a while but school was REALLY busy. And regarding previous chapters I know I messed up on Bowens eye colour because the book said they were hazel but lets just say they turned green over the years and he still has Cecily's hair. Sorry about that. ANYWAY... here's chapter 3! (Sorry if there are and mess ups!)**

**Chapter 3**

After breakfast me and Cecily spend most of the day out with Bowen who is collecting shells on the beach just north of the mansion.

"Thanks for coming with me to the Orange Grove today," she says watching Bowen kick the waves. "It really helped."

I give a hug with my one free arm while the other arm holds my shoes.

"It helped me too." I say and she smiles.

Bowen runs far up ahead of us splashing in the waves.

"Don't go too far Bowen!" Cecily yells to him.

I smile at this. Bowen would have had no freedom and no parents if it weren't for Vaughn. He may have locked us up but he set us free too. Free of a world when we know we are going to die and when.

"Im glad we can live." Cecily turns to look at me.

"What do you mean?" she asks.

I look up,at the sky, its going to rain so we'll have to leave soon.

"Before there was a cure, we were born, we multiplied and died at certain times." I say as

Cecily picks up a rock and tosses it into the water. "Now we can live, love, and laugh without worrying about how much time is left."

Cecily looks up at me, her red hair blowing behind her like red ribbons of a kite.

"The clock's stopped ticking. It can't tell us when we die anymore. Thats up to us."

She smiles. She's about to say something when Bowen comes running back. He looks scared.

"Whats the matter Bowen?" she asks him kneeling down so they are the same height.

"The rain's coming!" We look behind him to see a wall of rain coming in front of us.

"Well Bowen," Cecily says with a smirk on her face. "Looks like we're gonna get wet."

We start walking back to the car when the ice cold rain hits our backs and we squeal.

"RUN!" Bowen yells running ahead of us and laughing.

We race him back to the car. Of course im last because I have the weight of tiny human being attached to my stomach so I am completely soaked. Elle was waiting for us at the car when we got there to drive us home. The whole way back Bowen is showing us his shell collection, and telling us which one is which. When we got back its still pouring. Bowen walks behind us splashing us with water so Cecily goes to return the favour. We are out there just splashing each other.

"Lets get inside before we get a cold!" Cecily says grabbing Bowen's shoulders before he races to the door.

When we get inside were still laughing and the boys must think there is something wrong with us. That night I slept more peacefully than I have in almost 5 years. To have all that stuff about Linden off my chest really relaxes me. It was very peaceful until me and Gabriel are woken in the middle of the night to banging on the windows. Gabriel gets up and goes over to see what it is. Its the tree. His eyes widen when he looks out.

"What is it?" I ask.

He turns to face me and what I see in his eyes can not be good. "The hurricane just came earlier than expected." he says.

I'm trying to remember what this hurricane is. There has been lots of news reports about the Hurricane but I can't remember what its called.

"Its Hurricane Wilson right?" I ask he walks over to the door and before leaving he says

"Yes, but Hurricane Wilson is a category 5 storm."


	4. Chapter 4:Dead

**A/N: Hey! Hope you liked the last chapter! Yes? No? Tell me what you thought! Anyway... if you're wondering what the world is like five years later... we have TV! But sorry no more Glee. Well, here's chapter 4!**

**Chapter 4**

When I wake up the next morning to roaring winds and extreme rain coming from the storm. Gabriel has not come back upstairs since last night and when I head down for breakfast I find him in front of the TV watching the new weather channel that started up last year incase we need to go to the basement. I am hoping we never do have to go down to that horrid place again and I know Gabriel is hoping for that too. He walks over to me and gives me a kiss.

"How did you sleep?" he asks.

"Good." I reply. "Whats the weather supo..."

Im cut off by a loud crash coming from the wives floor. We head up the elevator to the wives floor and look for the source of the noise. We walk into mine and gabriels room to see the tree branch had broken and been flung through the window.

"Oh my gosh." Cecily says from behind me. "Where are you going to sleep?"

Gabriel picked up two smaller branches and throws them out the broken window.

"In the basement." he says. I was hoping he wouldn't say that. "We all need to sleep down there with the storm getting this bad."

Cecily and Rowan leave our room to get some of their stuff as we do the same. Bowen starts complaining how he thinks the basement is scary and dark and cold. I completely agree. I dont know about Gabriel but I know I won't be able to sleep because of what happened to me down there. Everytime I think about it I see the needles going in and out of my eyes and it makes me shiver.

"Whats the matter?" he asks me as I go to sit on the bed. "Is it the basement?"

I silently nod and he sits beside me rubbing my back. "I don't like it either but we could die in this storm if it gets bad enough." I look at him and see fear in his eyes. "I don't want to lose you like I almost did last time."

I hug him and whisper "Im not going anywhere."

He hugs me and grabs his bag of clothes. I do the same with my things and we wait at the elevator for the others. Cecily notices my fear on the elevator and touches my arm.

"It's ok." she says. "He's gone. You're safe now."

I smile but still nervous. I the old lab used to be a greenhouse but all the plants had died last year. I haven't been down there since I went to wake Gabriel from his coma and I never wanted to see the basement again, it's almost like I never left. When get into the basement I stop in my tracks to see my blood has stained the floor red. Cecily comes to my side and covers her mouth and hugs me and I do the same. Gabriel walks in and sees the blood.

"Oh my god," he says. "Who's blood is that? That wasn't there before."

Reed shrugged and went to the other side of the room and sat down.

I pull away from Cecily and hold his hand. I take a deep breath "Its mine." I say and I can tell my voice is shakey. He looks at me with wide eyes. "Did Vaug.."

I cut him off. "It was me who did that." He grabs both of my hands and looks at me.

"What happened?" I walk over to a chair on the other side of the room and sit down, Gabriel sits beside me and Cecily sity next to me holding my hand. I tell him everything. The eyes, the tracker and how I tried to get it out but I almost killed myself in the process. Cecily tells me what happened when she went to wake Linden and how he almost fell down the stairs when the Elevator was "too slow" he said. Gabriel is holding my hand now too.

"Oh Rhine," he says and he gives me a hug. "I would let you sleep in the hall but the're are windows,"

I sigh. "Its ok, I can sleep in here."

It's not ok. Every second I see or even get a glimpse of the blood stain I get shivers. That night I eventually fall asleep listening to the pitter patter of the rain. Cecily, Rowan and Bowen are snuggled together on their blanket and Rees is snoring, like usual. And soon I'm asleep too but not peacefully.

When I open my eyes I'm back on the table. I look around for Gabriel, Cecily, Rowan, anyone to help me. The only person here is Vaughn. I stare at him trying to get out of my restraints when I hear a cry, a baby's cry. He turns and walks away towards the noise.

"Want to see mommy for the last time?" he says.

_Mommy? _He has my _child_? He walked back over to me holding it.

"I told you not to run and you did, you may have escaped me the first time but with everyone who cared about you out of the way, you're all mine now."

Now I'm terrified. I have never heard him this angry, ever. He takes the child and wrapped a rope around it's neck.

"NO!" I try to scream but it comes put a bunch of mumbles.

Then he lets go of the child and it hangs by the neck from the rope.

Lifeless.

Dead.


	5. Chapter 5:Horror and Light

**A/N: Hello lovely people! Last chapter the dream was weird. I'm not good at that stuff. Well here's a short chapter 5! I'll update soon! BTW Linden will be in the next chapter! :D *Squeals like a crazy fangirl***

**Chapter 5**

I wake up screaming at the top of my lungs. Gabriel and everyone is awake now because of me. Gabriel tries to calm me but I am paralysed on the blanket. My heart is racing so fast that it feels like its not beating at all, I'm not breathing either.

"Shhh, shhh, its ok I'm right here." Gabriel says.

Rowan and Cecily are now at my side and Bowen has his ears covered on the blanket.

"He…" I try to say. "he killed it… he KILLED it…"

Gabriel reaches for me and I grab him pulling myself closer to him, hoping that his presence will make me forget what I just saw.

"What happened Rhine?" Its Cecily she's rubbing my back as I sob.

"Who killed what?"

I'm still too frightened to speak properly. Everything in my mind is flying everywhere, I can't think straight.

"Vaughn…" I try to say. "he… he killed it…. he killed our child…" Gabriel hugs me tighter and I do the same.

"Shhh…" he says "Its ok. It was just a dream."

It felt like more than a dream to me. It was a nightmare. Every heart pounding second felt like being stabbed with a knife in the back. I watched our child be hung in front of my face and all I could do was watch. I fall asleep whimpering in Gabriel's arms.

When I wake up Gabriel is still holding me, his shirt wet from my tears. I listen for the rain and wind outside. I hear pure silence. I get up being careful not to wake anyone. I walk into the hallway to see sunlight coming through. I start to run towards the elevator but, like Linden said, it's too slow. I dash up the stairs, ignoring the calls from Gabriel and Cecily. I race to the door to the main floor and throw the glass door open. I step out and see a beautiful morning sunrise, dew on the grass, the blossoms on the Orange Tree still full. Its beautiful.

"Rhine!" I hear Gabriel running up the stairs followed by what sounds like everyone.

I walk outside farther to see the garden is still standing, and there are even bee's out. It was unreal. Hurricane Wilson must not have been category 5 after all and the branch was just old. It looks like a new world. The clouds from the hurricane are moving farther and farther away.

"Rhine!" I hear Gabriel yell. "What are yo…" he stops and looks around. "Wha… how.. how?"

I turn around to hug him and he holds me close, to enjoy the moment. I see Rowan walk up with Bowen on his shoulders. Cecily hugs him too. There is still a breeze and two orange blossoms blow off the tree and land on Bowens nose and he picks it off and puts it in Cecily's hair. The other lands at my feet tickling them. We look at each other and smile. A endless horror filled yesterday, made a more beautiful today and tomorrow.

And I think Linden thinks so too.


End file.
